Microsoft Tablet PC

This article is about Microsoft's former line of tablets. For the company's current line of tablet PCs, see Microsoft Surface.

An HP tablet released in 2003

Microsoft Tablet PC is a term coined by Microsoft for tablet computers conforming to a hardware specification the company announced in 2001 for a pen-enabled personal computer running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition or a later version of Microsoft Windows with tablet support.

Original equipment manufacturers released the first Tablet PCs in 2003, running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Microsoft built pen and tablet support directly into later versions of Windows, beginning with Windows Vista and Windows 7, so that no separate tablet edition was required. The company's later tablet efforts included the UMPC in 2006, the Slate PC in 2010, and the Microsoft Surface line from 2012.